Prior art techniques for cleaning strand wire before annealing generally comprised pulling the wire strands through an ultrasonic degreaser containing Freon (a trade name for a group of CFC's. specifically, polyhalogenated hydrocarbons containing chlorine and fluorine such, for example, as trichlorofluoromethane). Some recent evidence has indicted the CFC's as a culprit in the depletion of the ozone layer and there has been strong world-wide emphasis on reducing or eliminating these compounds from industrial applications.